An agreement by members of the Colorado congressional delegation to give Rocky Mountain National Park an extra layer of protection is welcome.

The idea of designating the park as wilderness has been studied for more than three decades. If approved by Congress, the measure would prohibit drilling, logging and other development.

In an era when our wild lands are facing unprecedented pressure from development and pollution, the move would be a strong statement of protection. The park is being bombarded with nitrogen compounds that are changing park ecology, according to a recent study.

But, even as Rocky Mountain National Park seems poised for further protection, it’s a shame that a similar measure that would designate Browns Canyon in Chaffee County as a wilderness area has fallen by the wayside.

We hope the Colorado delegation will revive the measure and persuade Congress to give the 20,000-acre site the protection it deserves.

In recent years, the holdup in the Rocky Mountain National Park designation has been a dispute over how it would affect operation of the Grand River Ditch, which has been piping water from the Never Summer Range since the 1890s – before the area was even named a national park.

The recent debate over how the ditch company should operate has pitted environmental concerns against agricultural interests. The consensus legislation doesn’t address specifics of ditch operation but hinges on the successful negotiation of a ditch operation and maintenance agreement.

The ditch company and the park service are working on such an agreement, said park Superintendent Vaughn Baker, and expect to finish it in a few months.

The ditch issue came into sharp focus in 2003 when it overflowed and carved a huge chunk out of a mountainside. According to a lawsuit the federal government filed against the ditch company, the gully was 167 feet wide and 60 feet deep.

The breach damaged an old-growth lodgepole and spruce forest and caused more than 60,000 cubic yards of sediment to flow into the upper Colorado River and nearby wetlands. The lawsuit is still pending, according to court records.

It’s clear that the water flowing through the ditch is important to agricultural interests. It is used to irrigate more than 40,000 acres of farm land in Weld, Larimer and Morgan counties, said Sean Conway, chief of staff for U.S. Sen. Wayne Allard. At a time when wells are being shut down due to concerns about overpumping, the protection of ditch operation was paramount to agricultural concerns, Conway said.

We hope those negotiating the agreement can forge a fair deal that provides for continued use of the ditch while protecting the park from any future damage.

An agreement, and the wilderness legislation, are important measures to preserve the natural values of Rocky Mountain National Park.